Yingli Solar has announced that it has begun trial production of monocrystalline silicon modules with N-type Metal-Wrap-Through ("N-MWT") technology, by adopting equipment provided by Formula E s.r.l. (Formula E), a leading supplier of photovoltaic technology and automated manufacturing lines.

As part of the companies' strategic collaboration agreement, Formula E designed and produced a set of innovative manufacturing equipment for back contact applications in the production of N-MWT modules. The equipment has been installed in one of Yingli Green Energy's module workshops, and production trials are currently on-going.

The N-MWT technology, one of the highly innovative technologies the Company involved in, will reduces power loss in the module encapsulation process and improves cell efficiency by reducing the amount of metal applied to each solar cell, which exposes more of the solar cell's surface area to sunlight than with traditional monocrystalline technologies.

"The Formula E team worked tirelessly to put in place a pilot production line that enables the automated manufacturing of different module architectures, delivering unprecedented reliability, accuracy and precision in the manufacturing of MWT modules. Our collaboration with Yingli Solar is definitely strategic for our growth. We believe a new age for PV industry is now open and promises very appealing results for end users," commented Davide Spotti, the president of Formula E.

"We believe that cost reduction and technology improvement are critical to achieving our mission, which is to provide affordable green energy for all," said Cindy Hu, Vice President & Technical Director of Yingli Green Energy. "These innovations in MWT technology are the result of our team's strong partnership with Formula E. We look forward to further optimizing our manufacturing processes through joint efforts with leading PV equipment manufacturers, including Formula E."